Page 21 of Own to Obey

“Yes,” Kardos said. “At least until the two-day break. After that, do not schedule me onto any shifts.”

“Understood.”

Kardos watched Zolt as he walked away, then began to head back to the izak-rock, but on impulse he turned in a different direction. He made his way up the stairs and across the upper deck, and then down a flight of stairs on the other side of the ship, heading into the lower decks.

When he arrived, he was greeted by an elderly woman leaving one of the rooms. She had a woolen blanket wrapped around her chubby frame and a usual strand of herbs dangled from her coarse brown hair.

“So you finally come to see me,” she said, a big grin on her face. “I thought you had forgotten all about me up on the important decks and left me to rot down here.”

Kardos let out a gruff snort. “Leave you to rot? I thought you were already rotten, Rozalia.”

The woman laughed, swatting him on the arm with a bundle of dried leaves she held in one hand. “I'll have you know that I'm younger at heart than almost all of the other potionists combined,” she said proudly. “If anything is rotten around here, it's your treatment of the most important member of your tribe.”

Kardos leaned against the wall. “I don't need to worry about you, you are completely capable of dealing with anything that is thrown at you.”

Rozalia nodded, her brow raising in mock seriousness. “Like three hundred new bondmaids who do not have minds of their own?”

“How are they doing?”

She shrugged. “They seem fine physically, but I have no way of knowing what their mental state is like. They have no mind of their own, they only follow instructions and don't seem to have any desire to do anything of their own choosing.” She paused, a frown on her face. “It is not normal. It is not the Nyek way or even the way of any tribe of the Isles. They have no urges of their own.”

Kardos nodded. “I know. The Alpha who gave them to me dealt heavily in perverse magic. He removed their free will so they could be used as slaves.”

Rozalia shot him a disapproving look as she turned away to walk down the corridor. “They are savages, these people of the other Lands. They behave against the natural laws.”

“I do not disagree,” Kardos said, following her. “But I felt that they would be good for us as bondmaids.”

Rozalia sighed, turning back to him. “They would indeed be good bondmaids,” she admitted. “They are very well versed sexually and have no problem taking any of the potions that I give them.”

“None of them have had any adverse reactions or rejections to any potion at all?”

“No. In fact, their lack of will makes them perfect for the Haze recreators. The urges that usually come upon Betas who take them are met with no resistance at all. I think they will be a success.”

“Good,” Kardos said. He walked along the cabins behind the woman, remembering what Malloron had said. The Haze recreators were potions that were supposed to put a Beta woman into a Haze that was usually only experienced by Omegas. When an Omega was in this state, it was known to be highly arousing and attractive for Alphas. Her eyes turned golden, her scent became irresistible, and she was taken by the need to mate continuously so that she may be impregnated. Unfortunately, since Omegas had not been seen in the Southern Isles for over a hundred years, Haze recreators had become more important. It forced a Beta woman to simulate an Omega’s Haze, which tended to make her more appealing to Alphas and more likely to breed abundantly.

However, when Kardos had visited the Western Lands to speak to King Malloron about doing an exchange for the new bondmaids, the king revealed that nothing could replicate an Omega in her Haze; that it was incomparable to any Beta on Haze recreators. Kardos was inclined to think that was true. Shaya was blocked, and still he was taken with her more than any other, even though he knew he shouldn't be.

They turned into Rozalia’s cabin at the end of the row, and she poured him an ale before gesturing for him to sit.

He declined. “I'll not be here for long.”

Rozalia nodded. “What can I help you with?”

“I have an Omega.”

The woman gasped, almost dropping her own glass. “You have what?”

“I negotiated for her in the Western Lands.”

She stared at him, her mouth dropped open. “Then why are we doing all of this?” she said gesturing to the rows of cabins that held the bondmaids. “We don't need any of these if we have an Omega!”

“It doesn't hurt to have extra bondmaids, Roza,” Kardos said firmly. “She is only one. She cannot be paired with multiple Alphas.” A jagged irritation cut through him as he said the last line, and Rozalia straightened, watching him carefully.

“I assume she is on the ship,” she asked slowly. When Kardos nodded she said, “And what has she been doing all this time?”

“I've been trying to teach her what to expect when she gets to the Southern Isles.”

“You do not know what she would expect, my shinno,” Rozalia said evenly. “You have no idea what the high chief may do.”

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